Review of Research Found Immunizations Safe; Most Adverse Events Not Likely to Repeat

8/28/2017

Article Body

​Patients who have adverse reactions to vaccines are
unlikely to have a repetition of the same problem upon reimmunization.
Vaccinating a second and third time is safe for most patients, according to the
study, "Risk of Recurrence of Adverse Events Following Immunization: ASystematic Review," published in the September 2017 Pediatrics
(published online Aug. 28). Researchers reviewed 29 studies presenting the
outcome of reimmunization of patients who experienced an adverse effect after
immunization. They found the risk of recurrence of serious effects, such as
anaphylaxis and seizures was approximately 1 percent, although research on
these patients was limited. Repeat of more moderate reactions like decreased
appetite, vomiting, fever, sleepiness and allergic-like reactions ranged widely
from 4 to 48 percent, and recurrences were generally less severe or similar to
the initial episode. The study authors concluded that the research shows that
reimmunizations are safe in most patients. Because patients who have severe
reactions often decline future immunizations, there is limited information
about them, and high-quality studies estimating the vaccine-specific risk of
recurrence and predictors of recurrence are needed to inform doctors and
patients.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 66,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds